Dendrobium nobile canes softening at the base

[Orchitty]

Hi. I love dendrobium nobiles and bought several last year during the Spring. They were outside under shade cloth where they got plenty of sunlight and watering about 1-2 times a week from me or the rains. Several of them eventually started to get soft (seemingly from the inside) at the base of the canes and then break off at this area. Anyone know what happened or what I did wrong? From what I've read, during the growing season, they are supposed to get lots of water. Did they get too much water? I've also read that nobiles tend to burn easily at the base of the canes? Is this what happened? I'd appreciate any info and advice from the experts. Thanks.

[aliceinwl]

Was there any damage? I ended up having to hang mine to protect them from snails and slugs. I have mine in a bark mix and I let them approach dryness between waterings.

[Orchitty]

I did have something chewing on some of my orchids' leaves. Not sure if they were slugs or snails. Tried to find them but couldn't and didn't see any slime trails. Might have been caterpillars.

As for the canes, no damage to these areas I was talking about. They would just turn soft and dark in the small skinny areas just above the bases and then often break off with the wind or slowly shrivel up. From what I have read, people say when they are growing, give them lots of water. Some people claimed to water almost every day. I did not do that much but there were definitely days where it rained for several days so the medium stayed moist for a few days. Mine are in a bark mix as well.